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(No Model.)

G. B. DURKEE. TAIL PIECE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. No. 447,946. Patented Mar. 10,1891.

wziaazwyd UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. DURKEE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO LYON & I'IEALY, OF SAME PLACE.

TAIL-PIECE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,946, dated March 10, 1891.

Application filed February 8, 1889. Serial No. 299,209. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. DURKEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tail-Pieces for Stringed Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an exceedingly simple and economical construction of tail-piece for stringed musical instruments, such as banjos and mandolins, and to attain certain other desirable ends in devices for such purposes, as hereinafter more particularly set forth.

I construct my improved tail-piece of stout sheet metal, which is stamped or struck up so as to provide it with a set of string-holding fingers which rise from the plane of the plate, whereby certain advantages hereinafter set forth are attained.

In applying said tail-piece to a mandolin its body portion is bent along one edge to provide a suitable rest for certain portions of the strings, as indicated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a central longitudinal section taken through a mandolin with my improved tail-piece applied thereto, a portion of the neck of the mandolin being broken away for convenience of illustration. Fig. 2 represents in perspective my improved tailpiece a-nd shows a couple of strings having looped ends caught on to a couple of the string-holding fingers. Fig. 3 represents a blank from which my improved tail-piece may be made, the configuration of the tailpiece being partially indicated in dotted lines, as are also the slits that are to be cut in the blank during and as a part of the operation of striking up the string-holding fingers.

In said drawings, A indicates as a whole my improved tail-piece, which in Fig. l is applied to the flattenedback or tail end portion I) of a mandolin B. The body portion a of the tail-piece consists of a flat or substantially fiat metal plate, which may be cut as a blank from any suitable strip or sheetof metal. The string-holding fingers a are formed by striking them up from the plate, whereby they shall rise at an angle to the plane of the plate, and hence permit the loops at the ends of the strings to be readily caught onto them. In striking up these string-holding fingers no metal is wasted, and the strength of the body 5 5 portion is not materially lessened, since each string-holding finger is formed simply by a die or tool adapted to cut in said plate three slits 0. a and a substantially in the line of a parallelogram and running into one another,

as in Fig. 3, wherein said slits are indicated by dotted lines in a blank that is to be stamped up, it being observed that the cut ting of the, slits and the striking up of the fingers can be performed at one operation.

hen applied to a mandolin, as in Fig. 1, the edge portion a is bent substantially at right angles to the remaining portion of the plate or body, whereby while the main po r tion'"of said plate or body may rest against the flat- 7o cut by sharp corners, it being observed that the flange or lip a should be bent so as to provide between said flange and body of the plate a long rounded corner a.

An exceedingly important feature involving thus striking up the string-holding fill-.80

gers so that they shall rise at an angle to the plane of the plate is the admissibility of the Hat plate or body a being placed and secured directly against the flat portion of the body of the instrument, it being observed that by such arrangement the loops 0 of the strings C can be readily caught on to the stringholding fingers, which could not be done if said fingers were in the plane of the plate a and partially surrounded by an enlarged open 0 ing, since in such case the string-holding fingers'would lie against the body of the instrument and therefore render it impossible to attach the strings of the fingers without raising the tail-piece as a whole from the body of the instrument by placing between the two some intervening support, which arrangement is not desirable. It will also be observed that I provide the body a of the tail-piece with screw-holes (4 whereby the said plate a can be laid directly against the flattened body of the instrument and secured thereto by ordinary screws, which serve to hold the plate rigid with the body of the instrument and in effect as integral therewith.

D indicates a cover or guard, which consists of a plate provided with the marginal lips or flanges d and d. Said guard is hinged to the tail-piece, and can be either brought into position to cover the tail-piece, as in Fig. 1, or thrown back, as in Fig. 2, to permit the strings to be caught onto the fingers a.

In severing the blank or plate a from a strip or sheet of metal said blank can be cut with a tongue at one end, as indicated in dotted linesat a Fig. 3, and said tongue can be bent to provide a pintle-bearing, as in Figs. 1 and 2, wherein the pintlerbearing thus formed is also indicated, as'a The guard D can be provided with pintlebearings d for the pintle (1 which extends through the bearing a ,'although as a matter of course the plate a could be provided with two pintle-bearings and the guard could be provided with one pintle-bearing should such arrangement be desired.

I do not herein broadly claim a guard for covering the point whereat the strings are held, since such is made the subject-matter of a claim in my application No. 301,265, filed the tail-piece A, provided with the body-plate a, having struck-up fingers a, said plate a being fitted directly against the flattened end portion b of the mandolin-body, substan-' tially as and for the purpose described.

ft. The combination, with the metal plate provided with means for holding the strings and having a pintle-bearing, of the guard pivoted to said pintle-bearing and adapted to cover said plate, substantially as described.

' GEORGE E. DURKEE. Witnesses: CHAS. G. PAGE, ANNIE OoA'TEs. 

